— A county judge could rule as early as Monday on Ohio's law banning virtually all abortions, a decision that will take into consideration the decision by voters to enshrine reproductive rights in the state constitution.
Ohio's Republican attorney general, Dave Yost, acknowledged in court filings that the 2023 amendment rendered the ban unconstitutional but has sought to maintain other elements of the prohibition, including certain notification and reporting provisions. Those include a ban on the use of telehealth for medication abortions, a requirement that fetal remains from surgical abortions be cremated or buried, a 24-hour waiting period requirement and a mandate that abortion clinics maintain emergency transfer agreements with local hospitals. Such agreements have been rendered impossible to get by related laws in some cases.
So far, Ohio’s parental consent law has not been challenged in court nor targeted by Democrats, though the anti-abortion Protect Women Ohio campaign suggested it would be a casualty of Issue 1’s passage.